Kaiu Kabe (TCG)
Kaiu Kabe, also known as the Carpenter Wall, or more commonly the Kaiu Wall, was built in the southern border of Rokugan by the Crab Clan. The Empire's largest edifice extended from the Sea of the Sun Goddess in the east to the Plains above Evil, near the southern margin of the Shinomen Forest in the west. Shadowlands: The Essential Guide to the Dominion of Fu Leng, p. 66 The Defenders of the Emerald Empire spent their lives upon the Wall, standing vigilant to defend Rokugan against the next attack from the Shadowlands, in their eternal battle against the forces of Jigoku. The Great Clans The Wall was the greatest responsibilities of the Kaiu family, whose name it bore; the Kaiu constantly repaired and improved it. Legend of the Five Rings: Roleplaying Game (Beta), p. 209 Burden of the Crab Original Wall After the Seven Thunders repelled Fu Leng's dark army from Rokugan, the first Emperor Hantei commanded to build a wall to protect the Empire from the evils of the Shadowlands. The Great Clans (Learn to Play Rulebook) Hida and his followers created the “First Wall,” a belt of fortifications—watchtowers, palisades, and bulwarks—designed to block attacks from the forces of Fu Leng. These loose fortifications predated Shadowlands: The Essential Guide to the Dominion of Fu Leng, p. 35 the continuous stone wall which would be known as the Kaiu Wall. The Crab used slate-grey blocks fitted together to make a structure of thirty feet thick and a hundred feet tall. New Wall The actual wall was built in the year 716 at the site where the forces of a powerful oni known as the Maw had pushed back the Crab's line of defenses. The Shadowlands forces even managed to breach the old Wall. Gaze Into Darkness, by D. G. Laderoute Kuni Osaku was instrumental in its construction, as she raised a wall of water so the Wall could be built. Dark Hands of Heaven, by Annie VanderMeer Mitsoda Seizing the opportunity, the Crab Champion, Hida Banuken, ordered the Crab to begin construction of durable defensive work along the river's eastern bank. For seventy-three days the Crab labored feverishly, while Osaku maintained her invocation. On the seventy-fourth day, Osaku's strength finally failed, and she died. As the flood receded, the Maw drove its army forward, only to slam headlong into a mighty wall, the core of what would become the vast Kaiu Kabe. Shadowlands: The Essential Guide to the Dominion of Fu Leng, p. 67 Improvements Over the coming months and years, the Kaiu Kabe was extended along the Seigo River, later known as the River of the Last Stand. A series of stone watchtowers were constructed; these were then connected by curtain walls, which were reinforced in turn by more towers and strongpoints. Barely twenty years after the Battle of the Cresting Wave, the Kaiu Kabe became a contiguous, fortified belt extending along most of the Empire's southern border. Return of the Unicorn In the year 815 Emerald Empire: The Essential Guide to Rokugan, p. 18 the Clan of the Wind return was greeted as a barbarian invasion, and they were forced to break through the defenses mounted by the Crab and Lion clans. Their hordes entered Rokugan through the Shadowlands, punching a hole through Crab defenses and making their way past the Kaiu Wall into the heart of the Empire itself, The Great Clans (Learn to Play Rulebook) crossing near Razor of the Dawn Castle. Shadowlands: The Essential Guide to the Dominion of Fu Leng, p. 75 Architecture The Wall had remained the greatest accomplishment in Rokugani engineering ever since. One hundred feet tall and running the entire length of the border between Rokugan and the Shadowlands, it was always garrisoned by thousands of Crab samurai and ashigaru. It was set just north of the River of the Last Stand, which run in parallel with it along its entire length, all the way to the sea. Passage Through The Wall had twelve great watchtowers at intervals along its length, with large doors that could be opened to allow warriors to rally into the Shadowlands. Passage over the border also occurred through tunnels bored under the Wall and the river. The Crab had filled these tunnels with traps and false ends to confuse the creatures of the Shadowlands. The southeasternmost of these wass designated the First Tower; they were then successively numbered to the Twelfth Tower, which overlooked the Plains above Evil to the far northwest. Interspersed along the Wall between the Kaiu Towers were a multitude of smaller watchtowers, such as the Watchtower of Deadly Claws or the Watchtower of Iron Duty. Watchtowers were officially designated based on the Tower to their south and east. The curtain walls that connected the watchtowers and the Kaiu Towers were imposing structures, from fifty to one hundred feet tall, up to twenty feet thick and extending deep into the bedrock. Shadowlands: The Essential Guide to the Dominion of Fu Leng, pp. 68-69 Supply Lines and Defensive Weapons Many cities and villages were situated only a small distance north of the Wall, to provide the Crab armies with the extensive support they needed. Siege weapons such as ballistae and catapults could be found atop the Wall, where the walkway was large enough for entire units of samurai to pass by one another. Elaborate systems of tunnels were constructed to allow passage under the Wall's defenses. Sophisticated systems of warning and communications were maintained along the Wall, and between the Wall and the forces stationed behind it, including fleet-footed messengers; acoustic methods like signal arrows, drums, and horns; and visual methods such as signal fires and smoke arrows. Using encoded signals, even complex messages could be passed quickly across long distances. Shadowlands: The Essential Guide to the Dominion of Fu Leng, pp. 69-70 * Category:Rokugani Language (TCG)